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Magic and the Stack
a) Spell tiers: For clarity, new levels of spells (EX: L1 Magic Missile, L3 Fireball, etc.) will be referred to as a new tier. b) Adding metamagic to spells doesn’t increase casting time. c) Spontaneous Casters: Characters that cast spells spontaneously, and can cast upto 9th tier spells, but learn a new spell tier one level later, now learn spells as if they were one level ahead. For instance, a level 5 sorcerer can cast 6 1st, 5 2nd, and 3 3rd tier spells, as if they were 6th level. The caster level remains the same. At level 20, such characters gain an additional spell per day of tiers 1-4. d) Concentration, Consciousness, and Counterspelling a. Effects with a duration of concentration require a swift action to maintain concentration. b. Touch spells do not provoke attacks of opportunity when being cast, or when attempting to attack. c. If a creature falls unconscious, all active spell effects originating from them end one round later at the end of their turn, unless the caster regains consciousness. d. Counterspelling: If a caster identifies a spell as it’s being cast, and has the same spell or inverted spell prepared, they can attempt to counterspell as an immediate action. Counterspelling does not go on any stack. When attempting to counterspell with dispel magic etc, the caster must still ready an action. Counterspelling in this way prevents a caster from casting spells on their next turn, although they can undertake other actions. If they ready an action to counterspell, they do not lose the ability to cast. e) The Casting Stack a. A character has limits to the number of active spell effects they can be subject to, and cast at one time. b. A spellcaster may have a number of active spell tiers equal to their highest spell tier +1. c. Spontaneous spells must have a number of open slots on the stack to be cast. d. Spells that are not spontaneous remain on the stack until the spell ends. e. Regardless of the number of targets, only the spell’s tier goes on the stack. f. When the stack is full, the caster can only use L0 spells. g. EX: A L5 wizard can cast 3rd tier spells, so their Casting Stack has a maximum of 4. If the wizard casts shield on himself, he can still cast his fireball ''spell. However, if he also casts ''mage armor, his stack value is 2/4 (2 1st tier spells), and he doesn’t have enough open room to cast ''fireball. '' h. Any spell that goes on the stack can be dismissed as a free action on the caster’s turn. i. Spontaneous spells that have additional negative effects are not considered to be on stack after the spell is cast. f) Buffs and Debuffs a. A new negative effect supercedes and overwrites a weaker copy of the same effect. b. Characters may be subject to a total number of spell levels equal to their hit dice, regardless of source. g) Martial Arts do not go on the stack, and are separate. i) Metapool a. All characters that cast spells gain a pool of points equal to the highest level of spell they can cast. The pool renews when a character prepares new spells after an extended rest. Characters with psionic powers do not gain a metapool. Characters with multiple spellcasting classes share a metapool. b. Points can be spent in the following ways. c. Raise caster level by 1 per point expended. d. Raise stack by 1 per point expended. In this instance, if the spell is a spell with a duration longer than spontaneous, the stack reverts to normal at the end of the character’s turn, but the spell remains active. If this would raise a character’s number of active spell tiers higher than their normal maximum active tiers, the character cannot cast non 0 level spells until they dismiss effects to bring them under their maximum, or until they spend more metapool points to compensate for the active effect AND any new tiers to be cast. e. Spend points at 1 rate of 1 per tier raised to immediately add a known metamagic feat without raising the spell slot required. (EX: A character that knows quicken spell can spend 4 points from their pool to immediately quicken a spell and cast it as if it were the same spell; for instance by spending 4 points, the caster could cast ''quickened fireball ''as a 3rd level spell.) j) Blood Magic a. A character can draw on corruption at their own peril to momentarily boost their spellcasting. b. Defensive Casting Retain c. Free Metamagic (allow non-known?) d. Increase Caster Level e. Increase DC Grease: Reflex Haste: Single target